Marlowe Quote by Raymond Chandler
““Nobody yelled or ran out of the door. Nobody blew a police whistle. Everything was quiet and sunny and calm. No cause for excitement whatever. It's only Marlowe, finding another body. He does it rather well by now. Murder-a-day Marlowe, they call him. They have the meat wagon following him around to follow up on the business he finds. A nice enough fellow, in an ingenuous sort of way.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler, 1939
The passage paints a calm, almost mundane scene of a detective’s routine, highlighting the juxtaposition of ordinary calm with underlying danger.
In simple terms: A detective’s quiet day hides hidden threats.
Key Takeaway
Stay alert even in calm moments.
Themes
detective fiction
calm
danger
routine
crime
mystery
Mood
suspenseful
reflective
Type
literary
crime
noir
When to use this quote
- reading
- crime investigation
- daily life
- urban settings
Key Concepts
observation
contrast
underlying tension
character study
Questions to Reflect On
- What signs indicate hidden danger?
- How does calm affect perception of risk?
A Different Perspective
Even quiet settings can conceal peril.
![“We have the whitest kitchens and the most shining bathrooms in the world. But in the lovely white kitchen the average [person] can’t produce a meal fit to eat, and the lovely shining bathroom is mostly a receptacle for deodorants, laxatives, sleeping pills, and the products of that confidence…” quote by Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/11e/raymond-chandler-629_average_we-have-the-whitest-kitchens-and-the-mos_3191092.jpg)
![“Hammett was the ace performer... He is said to have lacked heart; yet the story he himself thought the most of [The Glass Key] is the record of a man's devotion to a friend. He was spare, frugal, hard-boiled, but he did over and over again what only the best writers can ever do at all. He wrote…” quote by Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/882/raymond-chandler-629_dashiel-hammett_hammett-was-the-ace-performer-he-is-said_20171.jpg)
![“He [James Cain] is every kind of writer I detest...a Proust in greasy overalls, a dirty little boy with a piece of chalk and a board fence and nobody looking.” quote by Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/614/raymond-chandler-629_cain_he-james-cain-is-every-kind-of-writer-i_41185.jpg)
